St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-08-06

they doing now? They are busy with fig
ures yet. No place in all the universe
like Heaven for figures. Numbers in
finite, distances infinite, calculations in
finite The didactic DR.. Dick said he
really thought that the redeemed in
Heaven spent some of their time with
he higher branches of mathematics.
Some of our transferred and trans
ported metaphysicians-Wha are they
doing now? Studying the human mind
only under better circumstances than
they used to study it. They used tc
study the mind sheathed in the
dull human body. Now the spirit
unsheathed-now they are studying
the sword outside the scabbard
Have you any doubt about what Sir
William Hamilton is doing in Heaven, OF
what Jonathan Edwards is doing in
! Heaven, or the multitudes on earth who
had passion for metaphysics sanctiied
by the grace of God? No difficulty in
guessing Metaphysics, glorious meta
physics, everlasting metaphysics.
What are our departed Christian
friends who are explorers doing now
Exploring yet, but with lightning loco
motion, with vision microscopic and
telescope at the same time. A con-
tinent at a glance A world in second
A planetary system in a day. Christian
John Franklin no more in disabled
"Erebus" pushing toward the North
Pole, Christian De Long no more trying
TO free blockaded. Jeanette" from the
ice, Christian Livingstone no more
amid African malarias trying to make
revelation of dark continent; but all
of them in the twinkling of an eye
taking in that which was unapproach-
able. Mont Blanc scaled without alpen-
stock. The coral depths of the ocean
explored without diving bell. The
mountains unbarred and opened without
Sir Humphrey Davy's safety lamp.
What are our departed friends who
found their chief joy in study doing
now? Studying yet, but instead of a
few thousand volumes on few shelves
all the volumes of the universe open be-
fore them-geologic, ornithologic, con-
chologic, botanic, astronomic, philo-
sophie. No more need of Leyden jars, or
voltaic piles, or electric batteries, stand
ing as they do face to face with the facts
of the universe.
What are the historians doing now?
Studying history yet, but not the history
of few centuries of our planet only,
but the history of the eternities-whole
millenniums before Xenophon, or HerOd-
tory of one world, history of all worlds.
doing? Studying astronomy yet, but
not through the dull lens of earthly OBJ
servatory, but with one stroke of wing
frni irh To Irr Nd
Mercury and Saturn and Orion and the
Pleiades-overtaking and passin swift
est comet in their flight. Herschel died
a Christian Have you any doubt about
what Herschel is doing? Isaac Newton
died Christian. Have you any doubt
about what Isaac Newton is doing?
Joseph Henry died a Christian. Have
you any doubt about what Joseph Henry
is doing? They were in discussion, all
these astronomers of earth, about what
the aurora borealis was, and none of
them could guess. They know now;
they have been out there to see for
themselves.
What are our departed Christian
chemists doing? Following out their
own science, following out and follow
ing out forever. Since they died they !
have solved ten thousand questions
which once puzzled the earthly labora-
tory. They stand on the other side of
the thin wall of electricity, the wall that
seems to divide the physical from the
spiritual world, the thin wall of cleo
tricity, so thin the wall that ever and |
anon it seems to be almost broken |
through-broken through from our side |
by telephone and Geographic apparatus,
broken through from the other side BY |
influences which men in their |
ignorance call spiritualistic manifesto
lions. All that matter cleared up. Agas-
siz standing amid his student explorers
down in Brazil coming across some great
novelty in the rocks, taking off lis hat
and saying: Gentlemen, let US pray;
we must have divine illumination; we
want wisdom from the Creator to study
these rocks; He made them; let US pray"
-Agassiz going right on with his studies
forever and forever
But what are the men of the law, who
in this world found their chief Joy in the
legal professionalism are they doing
now? Studying law in universe where
is controlled by law from
flight of humming bird to flight of world
law, not dry and hard and drudging,
but righteous and magnificent law,
before which man and cherub and seraph
and archangel and God himself bow.
The chain of law long enough to wind
around the immensities and infnity and
eternity. Chain of law What a place
20 study law, where all the links of the
,hain are in the hand
What are our departed Christian
friends, who in this world had their
cy in the healing art, doing now?
Busy at their old business. No sickness
n Heaven, but plenty of sickness on
'arth-plenty of wounds in the different
PARTS of Gods dominion to be healed and
o be medicated. You cannot understand
Why that patient got well after all the
killful doctors of New York and Brook
YIN had said he must die. Perhaps Aber-
rombie touched him-Abercrombie who,
fter many years doctoring the bodies
nd souls of people in Scotland, went up
o God in 1874. Perhaps Abercrombie
ouched him.
should not wonder if my old friend
Dr.. John Brown, who died in Edinburgh
ohm Brown, the author of "Rab and His
friends '-John Brown, who was as hum
lie Christian as he was skillful physi-
ian and world-renowned author-I
l L Y L.